Thursday, March 16, 2017 | news
The plaintiffs in the Sheff v. O’Neill school desegregation case are more frustrated than anyone that a significant number of Hartford students of color remain in highly segregated, low-performing schools. We are now more than two decades past the Connecticut Supreme Court ruling that, as a result of racial and ethnic isolation in Hartford’s schools, […]
Tuesday, April 2, 2019 | news
Recent months have witnessed a steady stream of stories about state legislatures attempting to attack or outright overturn the will of state voters—from discriminatory voter ID laws to the naked power grabs we’ve seen from legislators in Michigan, Wisconsin, Florida, and elsewhere. While attacks on the right to vote rightfully elicit outrage and media coverage, far less attention […]
Thursday, November 17, 2016 | news
‘Disturbing’ — Civil rights groups take on Facebook over ad discrimination When ProPublica revealed that Facebook allowed advertisers to target or exclude users by their “ethnic affinity,” the social network at first doubled down on defending the practice. “We are committed to providing people with quality ad experiences, which includes helping people see messages that […]
Friday, May 5, 2017 | news
Justice delayed is justice denied. For too long, that’s been the case in Harris County, where people languish behind bars for weeks and months awaiting trial for minor, nonviolent misdemeanors because they cannot afford bail. Enough is enough. The time has come for Harris County to leave its wealth-based bail system in the past, take […]
Friday, March 15, 2019 | news
In 2010, District Attorney Doug Evans tried to convict Curtis Flowers of the same murder charges for the sixth—yes, the sixth—time. Before the trial began, Evans did the same thing he had done before each of Flowers’ previous trials: he used his peremptory challenges to remove as many Black jurors as possible. Evans managed to seat […]
Friday, December 15, 2017 | news
On Tuesday, the Senate confirmed yet another one of President Donald Trump’s nominees to serve on our appellate courts. L. Steven Grasz, who was deemed “unanimously not qualified” by the nonpartisan American Bar Association, will now sit on the Eighth Circuit. That shocking “unanimously not qualified” rating — the lowest one possible — has been awarded just twice before in […]
Sunday, March 18, 2018 | news
By: Todd Cox Source: Medium Today marks the 50th anniversary of the landmark civil rights Supreme Court decision in Newman v. Piggie Park, which ruled that businesses cannot justify discrimination — such as refusing to serve Black customers as was the case then — because of religion. Yet, the issue is now being re-litigated. This time, by framing the […]
Tuesday, October 9, 2018 | news
“After a long, bitter fight over his fitness to serve, Brett Kavanaugh is now an associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. In the aftermath of this bruising process, many civil rights and social justice advocates are likely feeling tired and demoralized. With Kavanaugh confirmed, the Supreme Court is likely to begin rolling back critical protections for […]
Monday, May 15, 2017 | news
This week, law enforcement throughout the country will observe National Police Week to honor fellow officers who have died in the line of duty. One officer that will be honored is Montrell Jackson, the Baton Rouge police officer who was killed less than a week after the police-involved shooting of Alton Sterling. Days before […]
Friday, April 13, 2018 | news
By: Todd A. Cox Source: CNN The US Supreme Court’s unanimous 1954 decision in Brown v. Board of Education was a watershed moment in the fight for racial justice. The ruling not only banned segregation in our schools, but it also redefined equality in the eyes of the law, setting the stage for racial integration in […]
